The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-01-26
ARTIFICIAL COLD:
NATURAL ICE SUPPLANTED IN
MANY PLACES.
Liquid Ammonia Doing the Work
Of Ice - How Ice.Making Ma
chimes are Operated-Coolins
Mixture for Dwellings.

Within the last ten years the business
of producing artificial cold for the pur-
pose of brewers, meat packers and the
refrigeration of storehouses has attained
enormous proportion, aot dreamed of
when the business was in its infancy.
An expert thoroughly familiar with the
whole business estimates that if it were
not for the re;rigerating machines in New
York at present, it would be necessary
to use 5000 tons of ice day, and this
enormous saving in labor is attained by
means of apparatus devised chiefly within
the last few years. Brewers, who were
fifteen years ago the largest consumers
of ice in this city, no longer take ice at
all; meat ackers use but very little, and
the whole enormous business of refrig-
Grating food products, which now en-
ploys nearly 200 firms in this city, is
made possible only by these machines.
The artificial production Of cod is of
course no new thing. AS far back as 1884
Perkins, and twenty years later Twining,
made experiments with view to pro-
ducing ice by mechanical means. In
1855 Twining built machine in Clcve-
land, Ohio, in which, by the use of sui
phuric ether, about ton of ice day
was produced. In 1850 Care made ice
making practical business by the in
vcntion of his ammonia absorption ma
chine, which produced great sen ;ation
at the Paris Exhibition Of 1867. Cares
principle remains to-day that of the best
cod producing machines. Liquitied
ammonia, the product of the compression
of gaseous ammonia at low tcmpera-
ture, in evaporating and returning to its
gaseous state requires an immense
amount of heat, and will take it from
any surrounding material. The problem.
therefore, was to compress the gas until
it liqucfed, and then carry the liquid
ammonia TO some place where its evapo-
ration would absorb heat not wanted.
Thus, if ice was desired, the liquid am
monia could be carried into coil of pipe
placed in a tank of water; the absorp-
tion of heat by the coil of pipe would be
such as to freeze the whole mass of
water. If cold air simply was desired,
a pipe carrying liquid ammonia, or any
substance cooled by the ammonia could
be carried to the apartment which it was
desired to cool. Cares first machine
was simply strong pump which COM
pressed the gaseous ammonia to the
point of liquefaction, and serirs of
pipes or retorts into which the liquid
ammonia was forced. Having absorbed
the surrounding cold by its. expansion
the gas was returned to the compress ion
pumps and reduced again into liquid
ammonia. All improvements upon the
B. stem of Carre and Twining have been
made chiefly in the line of greater me-
shanical perfection of the condensing
and expansion devices. A perfect ma
chine would lose no gas whatever, but
would continue using the same gas over
and over again.
Liquid ammonia, an almost colorless
liquid which boils at thirty eight degrees
below zero, is not dangerous to handle,
and is comparatively cheap product OBJ
tanned from the gas which rises from
aqua ammonia slightly heated. This
aqua ammonia, of which vast quantities
arc now used by Manufacturers of liquid
ammonia for refrigerating machines, was
formerly run into the sewers by the gas
works, creating great nuisance. About
half million pounds of liquid ammonia
are now used every year in New York,
returning cutie al income to the gas
works lnstead of spelling the rivers. A
glass of liquid ammonia resembles boil.
ing water more than anything else. IT
the bulb of thermometer is placed in it
the mercury sinks to about sixty or sew.
enty degrees below zero. If little is
thrown on an iron surface, the effect is
just as if water had been thrown on red.
hot iron, and the cold is so intense that it
is painful to place the hand where the am
monia evaporated: drop of ammonia
falling upon the flesh produces blister
similar to burn.
At the brewery of George Ehrct, the
ce.house in use ten years ago was 80
feet long, so feet wide and "a feet high.
1t was not unusual for the stock on hand
to weigh 90, 900 tons, and the labor of
handling was immense. Ice had to be
used in every part of the busincss-in
making of the wort, the cooling of the
beer, the cooling of the cellars. To-day
rcfr 'geratlng machines do the work
which would require the melting of $50
tons of ice o day; do it far more perfect
ly, and at great saving Of money. One
of the essential requirements in the max
ing of beer is an equable temperature.
Formerly deep cellars were dug, and ice
was resortcd to. At present no cellar is
needed, and the whole brewery can be
cooled to the exact degree needed and
kept at that temperature wholly regard
less of the weather. There is scarcely a
large brewery in the country which now
uses ice.
There are forty-two firms in the
United States engaged in the manufac-
ture of refrigerating machines. and an
average of one mschine day is now set
up in the Southern States. In most
places the machines are intended to make
ice for sale to private customers. AS yet,
it is not possible for ice-making ma
chimes to compete with Jack Frost
in the neighbo7hood, although 1t
costs only S. ton to make artificial ice,
where the plant is large enough for turn
ing out seventy and eighty tons day.
Machines are shipped not only to the
South, but to foreign countries.
1t has been suggested that the day is
not far off when a cooling mixture
free ing lrine, cold air. etc.-.wil be
supplied t, every house from street
mains, in order to cool off the house in
summer, just as steam is supplied for
purpooes in winter. Perhaps
The same coils which now serve for
steam in winter may be used for brine in
summer. Ore of our large apartment